Veteran infielder Brad Miller was understandably frustrated by the news that the Indians had opted to designate him for assignment over the weekend, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 29-year-old Miller hit .250/.325/.417 with a homer and three doubles in his short time with the organization but lost out on his roster spot with the impending return of fellow left-handed-hitting second baseman Jason Kipnis. “It’s a tough trend,” Miller said of his DFA. “They acknowledge that it wasn’t fair. … I really enjoyed playing for Tito (Terry Francona). That’s why I’m frustrated. I want to be here. I like this group. It’s a good team and I was hoping I’d be a part of it, but they have other plans.”
Per Hoynes, Miller’s $1MM salary with the Indians wasn’t fully guaranteed by virtue of the fact that he agreed to a 45-day advance consent clause. (Full details on those clauses are explored in this 2014 piece from Trade Rumors’ Zach Links, though in essence, they allow teams to cut players with five-plus years of service at any point within the season’s first 45 days for any reason other than injury.) Miller will still be paid for the time he spent with the Indians, but he’ll receive the pro-rated portion of that $1MM salary while losing out on the rest of it. Notably, Hoynes reports that designated hitter Hanley Ramirez also has such a clause in his contract.
Some more from the American League…
- Infielder Logan Forsythe spoke with MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan about his decision to sign with the Rangers, specifically how the opportunity to play on a near-everyday basis by rotating through a number of positions spoke to him. “Most teams that looked at me had a pretty set infield,” said Forsythe. “There weren’t too many everyday jobs out there, or there were, but not too many guys were signing them. More teams were going for the utility or the platooning matchup type players.” As Sullivan details, Forsythe starts at second base against lefties and first base against righties, and he’s also available as a backup to Asdrubal Cabrera and Elvis Andrus, should either left-side infielder need a day off.
- Veteran lefty Gio Gonzalez is awaiting an opportunity in the Major Leagues with the Yankees as an opt-out clause in his minor league contract looms, Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post writes. The Yankees, according to Gonzalez, were the only club to even make him an offer this winter and didn’t do so until midway through Spring Training after an injury to Luis Severino. The southpaw had a brutal first start in Triple-A but has bounced back with a pair of strong outings, yielding just two runs through 11 innings with an 18-to-3 K/BB ratio. Gonzalez didn’t shy away from voicing his displeasure with the manner in which the offseason unfolded but also said he doesn’t feel he needs to pitch as though he has a point to prove: “No. I have nothing left to prove to people. [I] throw 180 innings, do your thing, I’m durable, doing it for the last 10 years. If I still have to prove a point, that’s embarrassing in this sport.”
Yankees need Gio! Good Luck.
Yea, good luck to all those bleacher beers.
LOL $14.50 beers, no doubt.
I’m not usually keen on pro athletes complaining when they either lose their jobs or have trouble finding a gig, but I don’t blame either Miller or Gonzalez for being frustrated. In very different circumstances they each have valid beefs.
I don’t have a problem with Miller admitting he’s frustrated. Gio’s complaints come off as more entitled though. Saying he has nothing left to prove? Clearly he does have plenty to prove since he’s in the minor leagues after no one wanted him on their team.
Gio is entitled… because he’s earned the entitlement. It’s what being a respected, solid #3 rotation arm for nearly 10 years is expected to get you. Respect.
So respected he settled for he deal he did when he got it?
Miller being frustrated is kind of off since he knew full well today was coming when he took the IL-replacement job less than a month ago (March 24th)
If anything, he should be happy he got to spend 3 weeks with the Indians, in an environment he obviously enjoyed, and was compensated better than he would have been if he had to sign a minor league deal after being cut by the Dodgers.
I understand he wishes he could have stayed, but he is lucky he was even there at all – he wouldn’t have been if Kipnis started the year healthy
Exactly. I don’t understand how teams in need of back end rotation help passed up on him.
So…..the Indians cut Miller loose because they didn’t want to pay him the full $1 million. He’s hitting .250 w/ a .742 OPS so far while another utility IF’er, Max Moroff is hitting .077 w/ a .192 OPS and making near league minimum. And the other player with the 45 day advance consent, Hanley Ramirez, is not matching Miller’s performance either. Ramirez can’t even play the field any more so why stick with him and not Miller? This was not a baseball related move. It was motivated PURELY by financial reasons. Cleveland and MLB should be ashamed of themselves. Even though Miller is far from a high quality player this move is just shameful. Where is the MLBPA response to this kind of crap??? As a Mets fan I thought only the cheap WIlpons pulled moves like this. I was wrong.
The league minimum isn’t all that far off from the $1m
Did anyone say they cut him loose for financial reasons? Sounds like speculation that you are now just running with, especially since the cost savings in this transaction are almost nothing. They need a utility infielder that can play SS, which Miller is god awful at. Miller may be salty, but if he’s worth anything, he’ll get picked up.
The Indians cut Miller loose because their starting 2B is coming off the IL.
If Kipnis was hurt all year, Miller would have likely been there all year
He knew that when he signed with the Indians less than a month ago – he signed specifically so he could get the MLB job Kipnis wasn’t able to play because of injury.
His being cut has nothing to do with money and everything to do with his inability to play SS
I understand he wishes he could stay, and he has played well enough to warrant another big league shot somewhere, but the situation in Cleveland today comes as no surprise to anyone – he was only ever there to be a short term, temporary replacement for Kipnis
#justiceforBradMiller
Brad Miller is nothing more than a journeyman player the last few years. With Kipnis back and Lindor very close there is no spot for Miller except as a utility player. Since Miller is not good defensively and is lousy at short, there is no place for him in Cleveland. Stamets will be down in the minors when Lindor is back.
Won’t surprise me when the Tribe jettisons Hanley. I’ve decided to take bathroom breaks when he comes up to bat from now on, especially after he choked twice with the bases loaded the other day.
And to think they let him pinch hit yesterday with them loaded again.
Go Tigers!!
I’m sorry, but players like Miller are, quite frankly, a dime a dozen. However Gio Gonzalez is another story. Gio has been an innings eater and nearly everything you could possibly want in a number 3 or 4 starter for the last 10 years. This is one guy (among others) with a legitimate gripe. Tony Clark has clearly been overmatched in his role as MLBPA’s leader thus far vs. the owners and really needs to step up to maintain labor peace. Too many loopholes and too many quality players falling through the cracks.
And too many analytics that show these guys are not worth the money they’re seeking.
Brad Miller. Hilarious. So, in one breath he claims the Indians “do not want the best players” and also that he wants to keep playing for them? Kinda like the guy who sues his employer but still thinks he should be allowed to work there? Miller had one good season–one–and has since proven himself to be no more than a journeyman who can fill in gaps when guys are injured. I like the no batting gloves thing too, but let’s not pretend he is some great player.
Agreed. As a guy that didn’t make a major league roster out of camp he was signed as a stopgap until Kipnis returned. The Indians have always been brutally honest, so much in fact that Lucroy vetoes a trade a few years back because they wouldn’t 100% guarantee him the catchers job. So anyway, as a LH hitting 2B filling in for a $14.7mil LH 2B and being unable to play a utility role his shelf life was tied directly to Kipnis’ availability.
Appreciate the contributions and wishes it worked out better for him, but good luck elsewhere.
Finally a player says what a joke of an organization the Indians are…all they care about is penny pinching and not about the product on the field. They are lucky they are in the worst division in baseball.